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Indicating when an item has sold

Given that the previous post was closed because a few people chose to go - and stay - off-topic, let me point out a simple fact: this forum already uses one means to indicate activity in a post. Pick a sub-section of the Forum; notice those posts in RED? They indicate a lot of activity - they're hot topics!

So, why does it seem so difficult for some to have something similar when an item has sold? Color likely isn't a good choice, as there's no color that I'm aware of that makes one think of the sale of an item. Greying out of the post title is, IMHO, probably the best option, though there may be others.

Can you, dear reader, think of a way for the OP to indicate when an item has sold at the post title level (e.g., what one sees when they click on the "For Sale/Wanted" link)? Greying out the post title has already been suggested, so please think of other means.

BTW, I agree with those in the previous post that old posts should remain; deleting is not a good option. Keeping the old posts helps to build an archive of prices and comments regarding sold items.

Re: Indicating when an item has sold

I think an up front indication that something is sold would be useful to me, as a buyer or a seller. Many forums allow you to update the title, so FS: chickens, becoms SOLD: chickens. But I can't do that with the current config here. But since I don't peruse many of the ads, it's not that hard for me to scroll to the end of any thread to see if the item is already sold. I suppose if someone is going through all the ads, it could be a hassle, or searching for a very common item, like "film holder".....

Re: Indicating when an item has sold

A classified ad marked as "SOLD" is good but "DELETED" or "CLOSED" is BAD because the buyer has little protection. I intend to sell a crap-load of things here and on APUG. I WANT folks to have full transparency of me and my honesty. In the beginning I'll lose money... in the end I'll break even and retain my integrity.

Re: Indicating when an item has sold

As usual, I've never had a problem. Here's a simple possibility. If something's 6 months old or 3 years old, it must have a good reason it never sold. Price too high? Value too low? Decent items that are priced reasonably seem to sell within 2 weeks.

Re: Indicating when an item has sold

I've had a 50-50 luck with "old sales". Once I enquired about a months-old FS posting and it had previously sold, and the second time I enquired about one and it was available... so I bought it. Neither was inconvenient nor any trouble. But I understand Jim's point... sometimes they are just like ebay items that get re-listed and re-listed and re-listed, etc.

Re: Indicating when an item has sold

I've decided to sell very little here on APUG. As much stuff as I need to get rid of it would probably be an irritation. I'll be auctioning most of my items so folks will see my feedback on eBay. What I do sell here though... I want people to see that I'm honest and will follow-up with any issues. Leaving threads open for awhile is the only way to ensure full transparency. I agree that a "Sold" indicator would be good though.

Re: Indicating when an item has sold

Originally Posted by Old-N-Feeble

I want people to see that I'm honest and will follow-up with any issues. Leaving threads open for awhile is the only way to ensure full transparency.

That is a totally different topic (albeit related) I think... but interesting. I've given more gear aqway on APUG than I've sold. Mostly because I had stuff I didn't need and became aware through discussion that well-intentioned people needed it. I've had a few good selling experiences but one (on another forum) where I really got screwed by a liar and a cheat. But what makes you think open threads leads to full transparency? From a buyers perspective the things that I think (this is my personal opinion) make for full tranparency are: real names, reputations based on discussion-postings vs for-sale postings. There are some people I wouldn't buy from even if they had the exact gear I needed at the best price ever because they are only a psuedonym who is mostly here to buy/sell, and there are others who have real names and contribute to the discussions who i wouldn't buy with because they always seem to want the advantage rather than work a fair deal. I understand why you are opting for ebay because they have an established system to ensure (for the most part) fair deals between relatively anonymous buyers and sellers. Good luck to you!